England - Day 2: Barley Mow, Barley Mow, Fish and Chips

The thing about traveling across time zones is those first hours you get there, you are screwed up. You are dingy from the plane. You have no clue what time it is. You are completely exhilarated with the idea that you are starting your new adventure.

That is until you stand in your customs line to get into the country for a full bloody hour. At least. It got so long going through the cattle gates, Matt was timing how long it took us to move from one end of the side until we rounded the end to the next row. I tried to read magazines and not be thoroughly irritated. We got through and took the train towards Slough (pronounced Sl-au, not Slooo - which the local teenage girls will think you are complete moron if you say). We walked to our rental car and were off.

Matt was very worried about this aspect... driving on the wrong side of the road, driving a stick shift on the wrong side of the

road, and driving with a stick shift on the wrong side of his body on the wrong side of the road. The first couple miles (yes they go by miles) were a bit dicey and the little roundabouts were the most problematic - halfways because we didn't know we were in them but the big roundabouts were also problematic because you'd lose track of the number of lefts you'd gone by.

We stopped in Maidenhead for lunch/brunch/whatever meal it was because
our bodies had no clue on time. We went to the Teapot Café - which they did not accept cards and was what I would liken to a locals dinner.

From here, we went to Bichester - to see where Matt was born and the first home he lived in. This was the first time we had a bit of trouble of staying on the right/wrong side of the road. There numbering system is a little different to track.

From there we headed to the Barley Mow - where Michele and Randy used to drink in Upper Heyford by the base that they were stationed at. The Pub wase under construction and not interested in us having a pint. They still let us take a look but turns out it wasn't necessary because it wasn't where Randy and Michele liked to drink. They actually went another 20 miles from the base in another Barley Mow in Banbury. They were also under construction and will open as a brand new Sizzler - was a bummer since we were so close!

We decided it was a good time to head back to our base in Maidenhead. We stopped at the Pinkney Arms Pub on the way into town. Cute place... simple, authentic, and had a farmhouse appeal. I loved the little center pieces at each spot. We took a corner spot - the place was pretty empty for the time of day. They had their pizza menu on and we just wanted a little sample to go with our pints. We had a pizza called Gone Trufflin' - truffle paste, fior di latte mozzarella, wild mushrooms, and smoked speck ham. This was Matt's first go at a warm pint - he was pretty happy - I thought it was pretty hoppy.

After leaving, we checked ourselves into our airbnb - was a cute studio attached to the renters house. Was just what we needed - a kitchen, bathroom, bed, place to park, and place charge our phones! We made a stop into the teeny grocery store down the street before going to Kingfish for a fish and chips.

Lunch: Matt had the steak and ale pie with peas and mash. I had the fish pie with peas and mash. This was the start of a lot of peas.

Supper: Both of us had the fish and chips. Although the place is known for takeaway, I honestly  thought the fish was pretty good - I'm more of an American/McDonalds fry eater but the fish was pretty crispy - I didn't want to soggy it up with malt vinegar.